Railway switch operating and locking means



April e; 1948. 0. NELL 2,439,020

RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING AND LOCKING MEANS Filed July 15, 1947 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April e, 1948. I b. NEL'L 2,439,020

RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING AND LOCKING MEANS Filed July 15, 1947 2 sheets-sheet z E1EE; 27

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077 2729 )lKsZZ a6 7 By I III: {3 00 73 Patented Apr. 6, 1948 EJNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING AN LOCKING MEANS Application July 15, 1947, Serial No. 760,979

The invention aims to generally improve upon and simplify the switch-operating and locking means disclosed in my U. S. Patent 1,770,421 of July 15, 1930, and to provide a novel construction in which the locking means is located at the outer side of the track and may be effectively shielded against snow and ice.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a top plan view showing the invention, the parts being shown in switch-closed position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. 1

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the locking member released to permit switchopening. I

Fig. 4. is a View similar to Figs. 2 and 3 buti1- lustrating one of the switch tongues in open position.

2 Claims. (01. 246-401) Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the bridle bar.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the operating bar for the bridle bar and the locking member.

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation showing the preferred manner of securing the protecting casing in place.

Preferences have been disclosed in the draw ings and will be rather specifically described, but it will be understood that minor variations may be made within the scope of the invention as claimed.

A switch is shown including one tongue lfllying normally against the inner side of a rail H, and another tongue [2 normally spaced inwardly from the inner side of another rail IS, the two tongues H! and I 2 being'connected by a bridle bar I l. The connection of the bridle bar it with the tongue it is shown at l5, and that of said bridle bar with the tongue l2, at l6. For reference hereinafter, it may be explained that the connection l5 includes a yoke I! and a vertical fastener l8, said yoke being secured to the tongue it. One end portion of the bridle bar l4 projects beyond the rail l l and is formed with a short longitudinal slot l9. An operating bar lies slidably against the lower side of the bridle bar It and extends under the slot [9. The inner end of this bar 20 is formed with a short longitudinal slot 2| and is slidably received in the yoke ll, and the bolt or other fastener 18 extends through said slot 2!. The outer end portions of the two bars 14 and 2!) are slidably received in a suitable guide 22 which is secured to a bar 23 suitably anchored to two of the usual ties T. An actuating rod 24 is provided with a downward projection 25 which extends through the slot I9 and is connected with the operating bar 20, and said actuating rod 24 may be shifted lengthwise to effect switch opening and closing, by mechanism within a conventional stand 26, or otherwise.

A bracket 21 is secured at 28 to the inner side of the tongue it! and projects downwardly from said tongue. The inner end of a tongue-locking member 29, of elongated form but much shorter than the corresponding lock of the above mentioned patent, is pivoted at 3!! to the bracket 21, and said locking member 29 extends under the tongue l0 and rail II, in parallel relation with the connected bars I 4 and 20. This locking member 29 is provided with an upstanding inwardly facing shoulder 3| which abuts the inner edge of the base of the rail II when said member 29 occupies the normal raised position shown in Fig. 2, the tongue Ill being thus locked closed against the rail ll. The outer end of the member 29 is formed with an inclined cam slot 32, the lower end of which terminates in a horizontal portion 33. This slot receives a roller 34 on an arm 35 which is secured to the operating bar 20, and said slot, arm and roller are cooperative in utilizing sliding movements of the operating bar 20 with respect to the bridle bar M, to operate the locking member 29.

When the switch is closed as seen in Fig. 1, the locking member 29 occupies the raised operative position of Fig. 2, in which it locks the tongue Ii] against the rail H and due to the bridle bar It, looks the tongue l2 in spaced relation with the rail It. The downward projection 25 on the actuating rod 24 is then at the outer end of the slot 19 as seen in Fig. 2. When the actuator 24 is moved inwardly to open the switch, it slides the operating bar 20 inwardly with respect to the bridle bar I l, until the end 25 of said rod 24 abuts the inner end of the slot l9, and this inward sliding movement of said operating bar causes the arm 35 and its roller 34 to coact with the cam slot 32 in a manner to downwardly swing the locking member 29 to the released position shown in Fig. 3. Then, upon continued inward movement of the actuator 24, the bars 20 and I4 move as a single unit, forcing the tongue I5 away from the rail H and the tongue l2 against the rail l3, opening the switch. The parts then stand as seen in Fig. 4. When the switch is to be closed, the actuator as is shifted outwardly but the operating bar 20 cannot then slide with respect to the bridle bar I4, due to the fact that the upper edge of the locking member 29 then contacts with the lower side of the rail ll, prohibiting upward swinging of the locking member at that time, the result being that the two bars l4 and 20 move outwardly in unison to again close the switch. As soon as this is accomplished, the shoulder 3| clears the base of the rail ll, permitting upward swinging of the locking member 29, with the result that the final movement of the actuator 24 slides the operating bar 20 outwardly with respect to the bridle bar l4, restoring said locking member 29 to the position of Fig. 2, in which the roller 34 seats in the horizontal end 33 of the slot 32.

By locating the locking member 29, arm 35 and associated portions of the bars l4 and 20 at the outer side of the rail I I, I am enabled to cover these parts with a shallow casing 36 removed in Fig. 1, thereby protecting said parts against snow and ice. Any attempt to encase corresponding parts in the structure shown by the patent above mentioned, would have required a casing between the track rails with danger of striking brake rods, shoes, etc. The casing 36 may well be secured to the ties T, by means of hasps 31 and padlocks or the like 38.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that novel andadvantageous construction has been provided for carrying out the object of the invention, and while preferences have been disclosed, attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

If desired, the bridle bar M may include an insulating section corresponding to that shown at l2 and I3 in the above-mentioned patent.

I claim:

1. An operating and locking means for a switch tongue which normally occupies a switch-closed position against the inner side of a rail, said operating and locking means comprising a horizontally elongated locking member extending transversely under said tongue and rail and projecting outwardly beyond the latter, a bracket secured to and carried by said tongue, means pivotally connecting the inner end of said looking member to said tongue-carried bracket and mounting said locking member for movement with said tongue and for swinging movement from a normall raised tongue-locking position to a lowered tongue-releasing position, said looking member having an upstanding inwardly facing shoulder which abuts the outer edge of the base of said rail when said locking member occupies said raised tongue-locking position, and operating means for said tongue and locking member, including means for swinging said locking member to said lowered tongue-releasing position prior to exerting a switch-opening force on said tongue and for restoring said locking member to said raised tongue-locking position upon return of said tongue to switch-closed position.

2. An operating and locking means for a switch tongue which normally occupies a switch-closed position against the inner side of a rail, said operating and locking means comprising a horizontally elongated locking member extending transversely under said tongue and rail and projecting outwardly beyond the latter, a bracket secured to and carried by said tongue, means pivotally connecting the inner end of said locking member to said tongue-carried bracket and mounting said locking member for movement with said tongue and for swinging movement position, a bridle bar connected with said tongue and having an end portion extending outwardly beyond said rail in parallel relation with said locking member, an operating bar for said bridle bar and locking member, means connecting said operating bar with said bridle bar and mounting said operating bar for sliding movement longitudinally of said bridle bar from an outer switch locked-position to an inner switch-unlocked position, an actuating rod connected with said operating bar for longitudinally shifting the same, means for limiting the sliding movements of said operating bar with respect to said bridle bar, a lateral arm secured to said operating bar and received in said cam slot of said locking member for swinging said locking member to said lowered tongue-releasing position when said operating bar is slid inwardly with respect to said bridle bar prior to switch-opening movement of said bridle bar, and for restorin said locking member to said raised tongue-locking position when said operating bar is slid outwardly with respect to said bridle bar after switch-closing movement of said bridle bar, and a flat casing at the outer side of said rail and enclosing the outer end portions of said bars, said arm and the major portion of said locking member, said casing having an opening through which said actuating rod extends.

' ORVILLE NELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in" the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 324,613 Tobey Aug. 18, 1885 716,686 Dicks Dec. 23, 1902 1,087,046 Nell Feb. 10, 1914 1,770,421 Nell July 15, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 205,418 Germany Feb. 26, 1908 

